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'the daughter of the confederacy' 

HER LIFE, CHARACTER, AND WRITINGS 

BY 

CHILES CLIFTON FERRELL, Ph. D. (Leipzig) 

PROFESSOR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI 



Reprinted from the Publication of the Mississippi Historical 
Society for iSgg 



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THE DAUGHTER OF THE C0NFEDERACY;-HER LIFE, 
CHARACTER, AND WRFriNGS.' 



~V 

BY CHILES CLIFTON FKRRELL, PH. D. (lEIPZIG). 

It was on the 27th of June 1864 that Winnie Davis was born 
in the 'White House' of the Confederacy at Richmond. 
The boom of cannons in the distance seemed to celebrate 
this important event, — the birth of a daug-hter in the reig-ning- 
family. But in reality the firing- was not a manifestion of 
joy; many of the cannons were hostile cannons which were 
ultimately to deprive her of her birthrig-ht. The superior 
forces of the Union were closing- in upon the Confederate 
capital, and it was not long- before it fell, and the little g-irl, 
as well as her parents and friends, became an outcast. She 
took part in the flig-ht from Richmond, traveling- by day and 
nig-ht in an army ambulance for hundreds of miles over 
roug-h roads throug-h lonely woods, and being- even carried 
at times long- distances in her mother's arms. It was a 
veritable zvV/ dolorosa! The happy cooing- of the baby alone 
comforted the bleeding- hearts of the family and broug-ht 
smiles to eyes bathed in tears. During- the dark days of her 
father's imprisonment little Winnie, who alone of the chil- 
dren was allowed to visit him, 2 was the only sunshine that 
came to him. She liked to stay in his cell, where she plaved 
and prattled, all unconscious of the sad surroundings. She 
would put her arms round his neck, and he would clasp her 



'The writer is indebted to the kindness of Mrs. Jefferson Davis for 
much of the information necessarj' in tlie preparation of this paper. 
Even Mrs. Davis, however, is unable to ffive the date when some of her 
daughter's minor pieces were published, and every effort to secure 
them has proved fruitless. They are either out of print or inaccessible. 

aShe was the only one of them he wished to have with him, as she 
alone would not understand that he was a prisoner. 



70 Mississippi Historical Society. 

to his bosom, forg-etting everything- for the moment except 
the baby iing-ers that were pressed ag^ainst his cheeks and 
the blue eyes that looked into his. It would be hard to over- 
estimate the comfort she afforded him while he was treading- 
the winepress of bitterness and humiliation. 

Thus the infant had received the baptism of fire and de- 
served the name of 'Davrg-hter of the Confederacy.' 

Mrs. Davis tells some interesting anecdotes of the little 
girl's precocity, which I repeat in her own words.. "When 
Winnie was very small, — I think three years old,. — her father 
was reading- aloud to me an essay on the refusal of a tomb to 
Byron in Westminster Abbey. The nurse'took her up to carry 
her to bed and she called out: 'Oh, do leave me until I hear 
the rest. The English will regret refusing their great man 
a g-rave in their church ;' showing she had comprehended the 
whole paper. Another time, when she was five years old, 
she was asked : 'For what ^vas Abraham blessed?' 'For the 
manifestation of faith in hospitality,' she answered. No one 
had told her in this phrase, for I was her only teacher. At 
this same time she chiinced to be at a church meeting-, wait- 
ing for me and heard us talking of the minister's needs. 
For six months after^vard she saved up her little pennies and 
one day tipped up behind him and put them into his hand, 
which was behind his back, saying: 'Dear Doctor, buy every- 
thing you want, — here is the money.' She asked questions 
which it taxed our mind and ingenuity to answer, and rea- 
soned out her own theories and adjusted facts so as to suit 
her own ideas of right and justice. She could never become 
reconciled to the fatted calf being killed for the prodigal son, 
and sympathized passionately with the dutiful son who came 
from the field overtired with labor in his father's service to 
hear sounds of revelry in honor of the prodigal son, while he 
had never been given a fatted calf with which to entertain 
his friends." 

The father took great pride in the development of his 
younger daughter's bright mind. He and Mi's. Davis were 



The Daughter of the Confederacy. 71 

her first teachers and introduced her to the immortal 
writers that they knew best. Before she could read she 
knew 'The Wreck of the Hesperus,' 'The Fig-ht at Coilantog-le 
Ford,' and Allan-Bane's song- in the dung^eonof Stirling- castle, 
and had the Bible at her tong-ue's end. At the ag-e of twelve 
she knew by heart also many striking passag-es from 
Shakspere and was an ardent admirer of the 'Wizard of the 
North.' In 1877 she was placed in a boarding school at 
Karlsruhe, Germany, where she remained for five years. 
The mental and moral discipline maintained by the Protes- 
tant sisterhood that directed the school was of the strictest 
kind ; the life was as secluded and as free from g-aiety and 
frivolity as that of a convent. In 1882 Miss Davis went to 
Paris, where she studied French several months, and after- 
wards traveled extensively. 

When she returned home she spoke German and French 
more fluently than English, and was well-versed in Euro- 
pean, especially German literature and history, but had lit- 
tle reverence for the learning- and literary history of her own 
country. Her parents began by dictations and by interest- 
ing- excerpts from Anglo-Saxon history to make her breathe 
their atmosphere and adapt herself to their habits of thoug-ht. 
After her many years of seclusion a new world opened be- 
fore her young- eyes when she made her first appearance in 
the g-ay societ}- of New Orleans at the time of the Exposi- 
tion. Now was formed her first acquaintance with theatre 
and opera. She was well prepared for this, — really her first 
encounter with life, — bring-ing- to it a mind vig-orous by nature 
and well disciplined by the study of history and economics. 
Hence, in spite of the g-reat enthusiasm with which she met 
the world, she was prevented from forming- any but just 
judg-ments of men and thing-s. She was queen of Com us 
this same season, I and somewhat later while attending- her 

'In 1892 she was queen of Momus, — an honor that has always been 
reserved for natives of New Orleans. Miss Davis is the only visitor 
upon whom it has ever been conferred. 



72 Mississippi Historical Society. 

father on his triumphal procession throug-h Alabama and 
Georg-ia she was introduced to the Confederate veterans by 
General Gordon as 'The Daug-hter of the Confederacy,' — an 
eminently appropriate title which she always wore in a man- 
ner worthy of her father's daug-hter. 

In 1879 the family had moved to Beauvoir, where they 
lived until the death of Jefferson Davis. Miss Winnie's de- 
votion to her father is said to have been beautiful. She was 
his constant companion, accompanying- him on all his trips 
throug-h the South ; she served him as pri^^ate secretary and 
assistant in all his literary work. She would wallv hand in 
hand with him by the sounding- sea; she would pore over 
volumes uninteresting- to her because she knew his heart 
was in them ; she would read aloud to him by the hour, and 
when he was weary she would sing- to him sweet old South- 
ern song-s. In fact she was the stay of his declining- 3'ears, 
succeeding- in her effort to fill not only her own place but 
that of the sons he had lost. 

After the death of the husband and father, Mrs. Davis 
and her daug-hter moved to the North. They felt that they 
must do so in order to secure work, which was now a neces- 
sity. ' It was also a g-reat advantag-e to them in their literary 
labors to be in close touch with their publishers, and the 
Northern climate was better suited to the mother's health. 
'The Daug-hter of the Confederacy' received an urg-ent and 
hearty invitation to attend every function connected with 
the 'lost cause,' which she always accepted when it was pos- 
sible. Both hemispheres were shocked at the announcement 
that her life had been cut short at Narragansett Pier on the 
18th of September 1898. As was fitting-, her body was 
buried at Richmond, where her cradle had stood, — in that 
city which is richest in memories of the 'lost cause' and all 
that is associated with it. 

Splendid was the character of this woman who had been 

'With their slender means the two women found it impossible to 
meet the interruptions and exactions of sig-ht-seers at their home, so 
this too had something- to do with the change of residence. 



The Daughter of the Confederacy. 73 

fondled and kissed in her babyhood by such men as Alexan. 
der H. Stephens, Judah P. Benjamin, Stephen R. Mallory, 
and the immortal Robert E. Lee. The hopes they expressed 
for her future usefulness as they stood round her cradle 
were fulfilled in rich measure. She always remained a child 
in her simplicity and in her exquisite purity of soul; she 
was a woman in dig-nity and in her ideas of justice before 
leaving- the nurse's arms. Even when she was a mere baby 
she resented any .reflection upon her truthfulness or sincer- 
ity; once when somebody reproved her for a supposed fault 
and threatened to tell her mother, she replied, "Do tell her, 
she always understands me; I am not afraid of my mother." 
After she had become known as one of the most cultured 
women of her time, — up to the very hour of her death, in 
fact, — she did not g-ive up her tender, baby ways with her 
mother, to whom she would say simply, "I try to be a good 
trirl; do you think, dear, lam?" She was unaffected, chari- 
table, honest, and loyal. Her love for little children was 
very marked ; to the sick and afflicted she was a ministering- 
angel ; she was almost worshiped by the poor people and 
the children about Beauvoir. It is said that she never al- 
lowed tramps to be turned away hung-ry even thoug-h she 
saw them impose upon her repeatedly. She was a model 
listener and would sit with her blue eyes shining- with sym- 
pathy. Too modest to lead the conversation, she did so only 
when her interest in the subject and her knowledjre of it 
made her forg-et herself and inspired her to speak. She was 
chary of expressing- her opinions, which were honest and 
well-considered, and especially disliked pronunciamentos. 

Charles Dudley Warner, who knew her and loved her for 
many years, pays a high tribute in an article as yet unpub- 
lished to her sterling- character and ingenuous face, her 
sweet disposition, and power of g-reat affection. He empha- 
sizes her sympathetic nature, her simplicity of manner, her 
open-eyed candor, her transparent sincerity, and her 
unworldliness, — her disposition to place spiritual thing-s 



74 Mississippi Historical Sucieiy. 

above material thing-s. He was especially struck with the 
fact that she was free from prejudice and bitterness with re- 
g-ard to the war between the States. He had reason to know 
that she rather shrank from the demonstrations of the Con- 
federate veterans towards her, as she was a little timid in 
such matters, and had a very humble opinion of herself and 
her merits and a womanly reluctance to such publicity. Yet 
she met the trying- situation admirably, her tact and delicacy 
preventing- her from making any mistakes.. She seemed to 
the veterans the embodiment of those principles for which 
they had foug-ht, and she .always remained true to the tradi- 
tions of her family and of her beloved Southland. 

The first thing Miss Davis published was a little poem 
in blank verse which appeared in 'The Times-Democrat;' it 
was an address to a group of giant pines at Beauvoir and 
was sig-ned 'The Colonel.' She was a member of a little 
literary club in New Orleans called the 'Pan^nostics,' at 
which each g-irl read a paper at an appointed time. 'The 
Daug-hter of the Confederacy' chose for her subject Robert 
Emmet, in whom she felt a strong interest because Mrs. 
Davis' grandfather. Colonel James Kempe, of Natchez, had 
been one of Emmet's men before he was sixteen. Besides 
questioning her mother closely as to the stories which her 
great-grandfather had told about the ill-fated strug-gle for 
freedom in the home of his youth, she read at least twenty 
books on Irish history or subjects related to it, in order to 
prepare herself for writing-. 'An Irish Knight of the Nine- 
teenth Century," as the piece %vas called, contains a vivid 
portrayal of the oppress.ion of Ireland from the earliest 
times and a sympathetic sketch of the young patriot, whose 
life was a romantic trag-edy. The author shows as g-reat 
enthusiasm for freedom as does Schiller in his 'Robbers.' 
Charles Dudley Warner, who was present when the paper 
was read to the club, was much pleased with it, and Mr. and Mrs. 

'John W. Loveil & Companj', New York, about 1884 or 188S. Now 
out of print. 



The Daughter of the Confederacy. 75 

Davis were so proud of it that they decided tohavcit published, 
expecting- only to distribute copies g"ratuitously among- their 
friends. However, it went through three editions, and 
although she had only a small percentage on the book, which 
sold for twenty-live cents, it broug-ht the young- girl $300. 
Mr. Ridpath once told Mrs. Davis that it had gone through 
many Irish societes and awakened much enthusiasm. 

The next publication, entitled 'Serpent Myths,' appear- 
ed in 'The North American Review.'' It shows wide read- 
ing- and offers an interesting- and ingenious theory to explain 
the orig-in of these myths. After this came some short 
descriptions of German life written for various papers and 
some clever bits of versification which were never publish- 
ed. Two or three years after her father's death she wrote 
for The Ladies' Home Journal' a very strong article against 
foreign education for American girls, on the ground that 
such education gives the pupil a different point of view from 
her own people and puts her out of harmony with her sur- 
roundings. This piece attracted wide attention in the North 
as well as in the South. She wrote for 'Belford's Magazine'2 
a clever criticism of Colonel William Preston Johnston's 
theory that Hamlet was intended as a characterization of 
James I, oi England. 

Miss Davis next resolved to write a book, and chose for 
her subject a story her mother had told her about a veiled 
doctor that had once attended a member of Mrs. Davis' fam- 
ily in Pennsylvania. It shows the delicacy of her nature 
that she feared she mig-ht wound the feelings of his family 
and accordingly laid the scene of her story at Wickford, 
Rhode Island, in an old house which she had seen there. 
The main incidental of this novels are true. As it is her 
most ambitious work, I will speak of it in detail. * 

' February 1888. 

2 March 1891. 

3 'The Veiled Doctor.' A Novel by Varina Anne Jefferson Davis, 
New York, Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 1S95. 

4The following- review is practically the same as one published by 
the author of this paper in 'Th; University of Mississippi Mag-azine, ' 
April 1896. 



76 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Doctor Gordon Wickford, the heir of the leading- family 
in a provincial town, has married a city belle. She is a beau- 
tiful blonde^ whose "glory lies in her hair," which she treas- 
ures above all other earthly possessions, including- her 
husband. "He had prostrated himself spiritually before 
her beauty, and demanded nothing but the acceptance of his 
adulation." Too late he finds out that blind infatuation has- 
caused him to marry a woman who is so vain, shallow, and 
frivolous as to be utterly unworthy of him. The uncong-enial 
surroundings among- which she linds herself serve to accent 
her lack of loveliness of character, and to widen the chasm 
between them. This becomes impassable, as far as he is 
concerned, when he catches her in a downrig-ht lie. Then he 
turns upon her for the first time, and tells her that, while 
she may remain in his house, she shall henceforth be his. 
wife only in name. The spirit and determination he shows 
reveal to her a force of character she had never suspected in 
one who had been accustomed to yield to her in everything, 
and she begins to respect him thoroughly. Only after she 
has lost his love does she realize the value of it, and then she 
strives to win it back, while a genuine love for him begins to 
grow up within her own bosom. 

As time goes on Wickford recognizes the fact that he is 
doomed to die of cancer, that dread disease to which other 
members of his family had already fallen victims. On re- 
turning from the city, where his worst fears with regard to 
his condition have been confirmed, he is thinking of seek- 
ing a reconciliation with Isabel, his wife, in order that she 
may comfort him in the trying hours that are to come. He 
hesitates because he has heard her make so many unfeeling 
remarks about the afflicted and infirm, and knows she can- 
not bear to come into contact with suffering. While he is still 
in doubt what to do, a scene of which he is an unseen wit- 
ness convinces him of his wife's infidelity, and in a moment 
of delirium he cuts off her beautiful hair and throws it into 
the fire. After this he is ill of brain-fever for a long-time. 



The Datightcr of (lie Confederacy. 77 

As he has completely ignored his wife ever since he dis- 
covered that she had been lying, he is not aware of the 
change in her feeling towards him. He pcrsistenth' refuses 
to listen when his old aunt attempts to plead the cause of 
Isabel. 

His sensitive nature cannot bear the thought of everj'- 
body seeing the mark of the loathsome disease as it slowly 
eats its way, so he covers his face with a black veil, which 
he never removes. He loses sight of his own condition in 
ministering to the sufferings of others. Finally, after many 
months his own hour comes, and he locks himself within his 
office, determined that no mortal e3'^e shall see his last suffer- 
ings. He writes a letter to his wife beseeching her to re- 
spect his wishes in this matter, and assuring her that by 
doing so she can atone for all her sins against him. She 
obeys him to the letter, refusing, in spite of vigorous pro- 
tests, to allow anyone to enter his chamber. She takes her 
position just outside his door, and listens with ag-ony to his 
moanings until the end comes, when she finds a note, writ- 
ten just before he expired, in which he recognizes her love 
for him and asks her forgivness. After her own great sor- 
row she is able really to sympathize with the sufferings of 
others, and finally goes down to the grave respected by all 
who know her. 

Such is the story, briefly told. The title reminds us of 
Hawthorne's parable, 'The Minister's Black Veil.' Both 
Doctor Wickford and Parson Hooper put on the veil never to 
lay it aside even for a moment, and the effect on the outside 
world is naturally very much the same in both cases, but 
here the resemblance ceases, for the cause is physical in one 
instance and moral in the other. The selfishness and levity 
of Madame Wickford find a parallel in the heroine of Ben- 
son's 'Dodo,' while her 'new birth' is not altogether unlike 
that of Marcella, who is, however, an infinitely stronger 
character. More interesting still is a comparison between 
our novel and 'The Forge Master' of Georges Ohnet. Claire 
persists in receiving the advances of her husband, Philippe 



78 Mississippi' Historical Sociffy. 

Derblay, with such coldness that he finally loses patience 
and pays her in her own coin. Her respect for him is 
awakened, and when he is on the point of fig-hting- a duel for 
her sake, she rushes in between him and his adversary, re- 
vealing- to him the fact that she now loves him devotedly. 
Thus a reconciliation is effected. I do not mean to say that 
our author has borrowed anything* from these stories, for, 
while she is probably acquainted with them all, it is by nO' 
means certain that she has read any one of them. I have 
mentioned these points of resemblance merely because I 
think they are interesting". 

I have heard the situations in 'The Veiled Doctor' char- 
acterized as unnatural and melodramatic, and the style criti- 
cised as stilted. With this opinion I cannot ag-ree. Our 
author partially disarms criticism by calling our attention to 
the perspective^ — the events being supposed to have taken 
place in "those times when the lives of men and women 
swung- between the two poles of war's brutality and a super- 
refined sentimentalism, which seeins mawkish to their more 
prosaic grandchildren." The ideals of different periods are 
not the same,, and it is hardl}^ safe to take those of our own 
as a perfectly reliable standard in judging those of another. 
For instance^ to our age Goethe's 'Sorrows of Werther'' 
seems full of maudlin sentimentality, yet it was received 
with wild enthusiasm when it appeared, for it mirrored per- 
fectly the spirit of the time. All are agreed that a story 
should harmonize, at least in a general way, with its histori- 
cal setting-, for else we should be reminded of Horace's pic- 
ture of the figure with a woman's head, a horse's neck, feath- 
ered body, and a fish's tail. 

When we take into consideration the sensitive nature of 
Gordon Wickford and the ignorance of the physicians of his 
day with regard to the proper treatment of cancer, his de- 
sire to die alone does not seem so unnatural, and, if this view 
be accepted, Isabel's obedience is easily understood. It must 
be confessed that the most sympathetic and practical char- 
acter in the book is 'Aunt Hannah.' 



llic Daug-Jiter of the Con/cdcrary. 79 

The style is not always what it should be, our author 
being- at times unable to resist the temptation to use hig-h- 
sounding- phrases, but it sometimes manifests considerable 
streng-th, and we find numerous bits of description that are 
really clever and show excellent taste in their simplicity. 
I quote several passao-es. 

"As yet the trees in the street had not completely hid- 
den their g-raceful branch-lines in new spring- g-reener}'; 
there were still lig-ht young- shoots in the box hedg-es, and 
the air was full of the breath of the spring-. In the old g-ar- 
den long- lines of crocus, yellow jonquils, and sing-le blue 
hyacinths hedg-ed the g-rass-plots. The snowballs were cov- 
ered with g-reat foamy white balls, periwinkles looked up 
clear-eyed from under the parlor windo^vs, and everywhere 
the sing-le blue violets were making- the air sweet with their 
spring- thanksg-iving-. The tall standard roses had thrown 
out pale-g-reen racemes, and the 'bridal-wreath' bushes were 
just commencing- to powder their branches Vv'ith miniature 
blossoms. A young- moon hung- like a reap-hook in the even- 
ing- sky ; the bride and g-room could see it between a fret- 
work of flowery apple and pear branches as they paced 
backward and forward in the soft air." 

"At last the day broke ros}' and splendid over a steel- 
blue sea." 

"There was a freshness on her cheeks and a dewy look 
about her eyes that seemed to answer to the glory of the new 
day, and to proclaim her an intcg-ral part of the summer 
morning-." 

"i\utumn had dressed the old town in sober suits of 
brown, laced with yellow and red; there was a sharp tano- 
in the salt sea air that sent the blood dancing-. The smell of 
the ripe apples, crushed by the cider-presses, pervaded the 
orchards, and in the fields the stacked dried corn showed the 
unsuspected wealth of g-olden pumpkins that grevs^ between 
rows. Out in the v/oods the ferns had g-rown wan and pale, 
and the fading- leaves beg-an to carpet the dead summer's 
underg-rowth. Day after day the officer and the lad}' rode 



80 Mississippi Ilisioj'ical Suciciy. 

away from the tree-shaded streets to the silent autumn for- 
ests where silver-g-ray oak-boles upheld canopies of brown 
velvet leaves. The g-um-trees burned like fire, and the hick- 
ory and sassafras g-leamed g-olden over the red sumach and 
whortleberry that made the old fields seem delug-ed with 
the blood of some mig-hty battle. At times the long- lines of 
homing- ducks would pass them, or a V of wild g-eese would 
sweep over their heads, crying- iionk-honk!' " 

"Evening had come on, and the bare boug-hs were etched 
black ag-ainst a lemon-colored sky, which melted into orang-e 
where it kissed the horizon." 

"The rosv g-low in the west faded to ashen gray as the 
day burned itself out." 

"Autumn followed, spreading- its rich India carpet of 
leaves before the retreating- footsteps of the dying year." 

"Again the dawn swept up out of the sea, rosy and clear; 
she could see the pink light of a new day on the western 
walls of the passage." 

"He labored under the oppressive aloofness begotten by 
sorrow, which endows even the most familiar objects with a 
strangeness borrowed from the new relation that we thence- 
forth bear to our dead selves. The old landmarks seemed 
to be obliterated by the torrent of his anguish, and he felt 
no more of the balm he anticipated from a sense of home- 
coming than he mig-ht have experienced in entering any way- 
side tavern. His disease created a spiritual alienation from 
all things, and in his heart, like the Jewish lepers, he cried 
out perpetually, 'Unclean! unclean!' proclaiming his eternal 
separation from humanity." 

"There were all sorts of half-fiedged thoughts nestling 
in his heart as he strode out into the night." 

"A sudden apprehension shook her, every overwrought 
nerve in her body seemed strained to listen ; the wind had 
risen since dark, and was moaning in the chimney. She 
heard him fumble with the bolts ; it seemed an age before 
the door flew open with a crash, and the storm rushed 
in whooping, making- the candles flicker and starting the 



TJic Daughter of the Confcde^'acw Rl 

smouldering- log's into a blaze. Some one was talking- to the 
Captain in the hall ; now the door closed, and she heard his 
quick step coming- back alone. The presentiment of impend- 
ing- evil that had oppressed her all day now took the form of 
anxiety for her husband; her fear g-rew into an awful cer- 
taint}' of misfortune as she listened for the Captain's return. 
Could Gordon have been taken ill? Was there an accident 
on the journey ? Could he even be dead? 'Oh God,' she 
prayed dumbly, 'not without saying- g-ood-bye, — not ang-ry 
with me, and without good-bye !' " 

Finally, the moral of the book is one that has the sanc- 
tion of the father of Greek trag-edy ; it is the familiar adag-e 
that wisdom comes throug-h suffering-. The strong-est 
feature of the story is its interest; I could hardly put it 
down before I had finished it. This interest, which is in- 
spired by its intrinsic merit, is increased by the fact that it 
is the work of 'The Daug-hter of the Confederacy.' While 
it is not a g-reat book, it is well worth reading-. 

Next came many unsig-ned essays for different journals, 
— a Christmas story for 'The World,' and a pretty one called 
'Maiblume' for 'Arthur's Home Journal.' Then followed a 
comprehensive article on 'The Women of the South before 
the War,' — before she was born. Mrs. Davis g-ave her the 
material, and her beautiful, pure soul shed upon it the moon- 
lig-ht of idealism. The piece last mentioned, as well as a 
remarkable paper on her father's character as she saw it, 
was published by McClure's syndicate. 

Miss Davis was unusually well-versed in Chinese history, 
as she had spent two years reading- it because of her inten- 
tion of writing- a Chinese novel. On this account 'A Ro- 
mance of Summer Seas' has so strong- a vraiscmblancc that 
people thoug-ht the author had visited the scenes so vividly 
described. Her knowledg-e of the Chinese world is shown 
also in an article not yet published which has for its title, 
'An Experiment in Chinese Money;' it was written at the 
time of the silver and g-old contest. 

It was a cherished wish of the dutiful daug-hter to put 



82r Missisii^pi Historical Society, 

herself in a position to buy a little liome in a beautiftii" 
cbvintry district and" a little pony carriage tor her mother 
and herself.' With this in view she wrote 'A Romance of 
Summer Seas,'' which she had first intended to call 'An Un-' 
conventional Experiment.' She had contemplated writing" a. ' 
novel of which the scene should , be laid at IIong--Kong-,-^a ' 
novel of a more ambitious nature than 'A Romance of Sum- 
mer Seas.' 

The 'uhcoiiveiitional experiment' consists. in a young o-irl's. ■ 
being- forced by circumstances to ti-ayel under the sole guard- 
ianship of a young Englishmaii frbiu thpir home, Penahg, off 
the coast of the Malay /Peninsula, to Hong-Kong and YolvO- 
hama. The summer seas of the Orient and the two cities' 
last' named forni the background of the story. The pair are' 
very i-eserv'ed" and stand aloof from the othei* passengers' 
until these begin to gossip about them and to whisper that . 
the relations between them are not just what they should ' 
be. This causes two or three fights, two challenges, and one ' 
d'uel, all of which might have been avoided if the people on 
board had niinded their own business. It also brings about 
a marriage between the 3^ouhg mail and young- girl in ques^ 
tion, who have been awakened by these rude happening-s to 
tlie consciousness that they love one another. 

The characters are well-drawn and lifelike. Btish, the 
Globe Trotter, who tells the story, proves to be a very enter- 
taining rciconteur in spite: of the reputation he has of being 
an insufferable bore. He isloyaland true, and does liot hesi- 
tate to risk his life for his new-found friend. Malcolm Ral- 
stone: and Miiierva Primrose, the pair in whom the interest 
o"f the story centers, ai-e not idealized but thoroughly human.' 
Guthrie, the Kansas cattle king, is the best-drawn character 
of all; he is kind-hearted and mailly, but the personification 
of vulgarity,. — one of that type of Americans who 'travel' 
much because they think it is the thing to do, make 

I 'A Romance of Sumniei" Seas,' A Novel. By Varina Annfr' 
Jbfl'erson-Davis, Author of 'The Veiled Doctor,' New York and, Lon- 
don, Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 1898. 



The Daitghtcr of the Coii/edcrdty. S3 

themselves very conspicuous by their louclncs!;>, bad manners, 
and ig-norance,.and do all they, can to bring our country into 
disrepute. They are aided in this noblework by such vul- 
g-arians ■ as the American consul; at PIong'-Kong-,— these 
creatures who owe their prominence to the abusQS of our 
consular system. Miss Edwina Starkey is a revised but un- 
improved edition of Mrs. Jellyby, — what Mrs. Jellyby might 
Ivtive been if she had become a sour old maid. Thoug-h an 
apostle of 'The Botherhood for the Diffusion of Light,' Miss 
Edwina has about as much of the true spirit of Christianity 
as she has of personal beaut3\ Among the minor chai-ac- 
ters Doctor Clark is admirably drawn. 

The book contains many charming bits of description; 
one has the feeling that Miss Davis nmst have visited these 
scenes which she so vividly paints. ' The life on shipboard 
seems very real. We find evidence of the closest observa- 
tion of tlte ^ortd, and the results of this observation scnten- 
tlously expressed. A quiet humor pervaxles the \ story, j 
which is realistic in the best sense and quite healthy. 

I insert a few extracts. 

"We were all up on deck enjoying the black glory of the 
night, — -stars set in a velvet pall overhead, and, below, the 
phosphorus fringes that edged every ripple in the water and 
made the ship's wake shine like a reflection of the IVTilkv 
^ay.''' 

■ '"As I sat there heedless of time, the light in the west 
faded, and the great blue dome blushed with a thousand' 
delicate gradations of color, from the deep sapphire over- 
head, where the first stars twinkled, through fainter blues 
a,nd apple greens, until everything melted into the red gold 
Of the horizon." 

"So he went off, leaving me alone in the white glory of 
the tropic night. No words of mine can convey the magic 
of that moonlight, enveloping everything, and culminating in 
a glittering path across the water. Every now and then a 
fish jumped, and I could see its wet sides glitter; or a ghost- 
ly gull swept by on silent wings, for when the full moon rides 
in the southern sk}', not even the birds can sleep, but Wake 
and sing their songs fitfully throughout the night."- 



84 Mississippi Historical Society. 

"They sat at the window waiting-, and watching- the heat- 
lig-htning play in the west and the reflection of the ships' 
lamps that lay in the water like long- yellow smudg-es. As the 
nig-ht closed in the threatened storm swept up out of the sea, 
deluging the city and whipping- the quiet harbor into a foam; 
the thunder crashed incessantly, and the flashes of lightning- 
showed stooping' fig-ures running- along- the bund to shelter, 
and hooded jinrikishas tearing by, the coolies' g-rass cloaks, 
dripping- at every blade." 

"When one woman wishes to wound another she always 
strikes at her heart." 

"Black was very inky and white immaculate to this son 
of the prairies." 

"People never relish life as they do when the taste of 
death is still bitter between their teeth." 

"Her heart was as pure as crystal." 

"Women are the most conservative things alive." 

"The face he turned upon me was no more the face of 
Minerva's lover than the sea in December is like the sea in 
June." 

"I venture to say that very few of the dead would be 
entirely welcome if they returned unexpectedly to their 
widowed affinities." 

"Nothing- is so perfect a g-uarantee of respectability in a 
chance acquaintance as the names of your own friends on 
his visiting-list." 

"Many babies and Burmese summers had exhausted ali 
the elasticity she had ever possessed." 

On the whole, 'A Romance of Summer Seas,' while it is. 
on a less ambitious scale than 'The Veiled Doctor,' seems 
more natural and shows a gratifying- advance along- several 
lines. 

When Miss Davis was suffering intensely in her last ill- 
ness, she would pat her mother's hand and say, "We shall 
have our carriage when my book sells." But her unselfish 
dreams were not to be realized. The career which seerned 
so full of promise was cut short by death. Now we see 
through a glass darkly; when we see face to face, we shall 
know why this life of usefulness ended in its morning. As 
long as the memories of the 'lost cause' linger in her beloved 
Southland, so long shall the name of Winnie Davis, 'The 
Daughter of the Confederacy,' remain unforgotten. She 
has passed away, but the perfume of her noble life will not 
pass away. 



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